"Premium Rush," with Joseph Gordon-Levitt pedaling his heart out, might well be tagged as cyclist porn -- flush with crazy two-wheeled Manhattan street antics, on-point observations of a risk-taking bike subculture and the lingo and accessories associated with it. But even if you don't know a fixie (a bike gruelingly stuck with only one gear) from a fixer-upper, you're in for a killer ride.

Directed with innovative spunkiness by David Koepp, who co-wrote the tidy screenplay with John Kamps, "Rush" takes a Thumbelina-sized premise -- a gambling-addicted NYPD detective's (Michael Shannon) relentless pursuit of a Road Runner-like messenger named Wilee (Gordon-Levitt) -- and packages it into a zippy 89 minutes that's as snug as a pair of undersized spandex cycling shorts.

I have to be upfront about all this. I'm an obsessed cyclist and pretty much the target audience for "Rush." While I'm hardly a daredevil like the bike messenger Gordon-Levitt so sportingly portrays, the overstuffed drawer in my bedroom bureau attests to my addiction: I have a bike-themed T-shirt for every occasion.

That said, I'm also well-acquainted with the rules of the road for good filmmaking. And "Rush" cycles through all the B-movie essentials expertly, sprinting ahead late in the summer movie race to deliver one of the season's best surprises.

Yes, the motivations behind why everyone's hot after the envelope given to Wilee by an anxious young woman (Jamie Chung) might not be as interesting as the energetic "French Connection-like" daring chase scenes, but they do fit in with "Rush's" anti-authority theme. Cops, China and 9-to-5ers in suits really take it on the chin here.

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But what makes this thriller click are the well-acted characters, the action sequences and the keen point of view. All come together in a storyline that unfolds in a single day.

Gordon-Levitt, who had to get stitched up while filming after slamming into a taxi cab (stay for the end credits to see a flash of the carnage), taps into the mindset of a hard-core street rider. He makes the renegade, nonconformist Wilee intriguing, appealing and reckless. He certainly looks the part, with his well-defined calves pedaling manically on his fixie.

Shannon, so marvelously paranoid in the underseen "Take Shelter," goes full-throttle as the bad cop, making him creepy and pathetic. Dania Ramirez ("American Reunion") gives all the boys a run for their money as Wilee's co-worker and on-again/off-again love interest, Vanessa -- even if that romance is a footnote. And relative newcomer Wole Parks makes for a very charismatic Manny, Wilee's rival messenger, who has a pricey bike and all the top-notch gear -- the very antithesis of Wilee's scrappy style.

Koepp puts the cast through the physical wringer, setting much of the action and dialogue while actors are in the bike saddle. His best visual trick shows three options from Wilee's point of view, as he assesses, then responds to obstacles in his path. It's an inspired and stylized stroke, even if much of the cycling doesn't represent safe riding.

So don't take what you see out on the streets, simply take "Premium" for what it is: a snappy, fast-paced thriller that provides a genuine rush to close out the summer. Even if you prefer four wheels over two, you're in for a pulse-pounding time.